Cleveland ? Surgeons trying to separate 3-year-old conjoined twins halted the operation because of swelling in the brain of the larger, stronger girl, but the doctors and parents said Thursday that they would try again.

The parents of Tatiana and Anastasia Dogaru said in a statement released by the hospital that the girls were doing fine. The blond twins, born in Italy to Romanian parents, were awake and alert Thursday.

After a section of bone was removed Wednesday, doctors discovered that Anastasia’s brain tissue was swollen and her blood pressure lower than usual. When medications to reduce the swelling were ineffective, doctors closed the opening without starting the first operation to separate them.